Tuesday, March 13, 2012

10 Midwest Startups Selected for Think Big Showcase in Silicon Valley

Last week, Think Big Partners revealed the 10 startup companies that will participate in the Think Big Showcase, a highly-intensive, multi-day pitchfest for entrepreneurs who live in the Midwest and want to get in front of investors from startup hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.


This Spring, Think Big Partners has invited 10 startups to travel to Silicon Valley to participate in the Silicon Valley Bank Showcase and the Think Big Showcase at the end of March.  The startups include:


Audio Anywhere (Bixy): Audio Anywhere aims to increase ad revenues for online media platforms by a factor of 10.  Ads are created through Bixy, the company’s self-service ad platform. Bixy is like Google AdWords for personalized interactive ads. Businesses utilize the Bixy toolkit to create their own ads in less than 5 minutes for as little as $50.


Eyeverify: Eveverify brings to market a software authentication module that will leverage the onboard cameras on mobile devices to take images of the blood vessels in the whites of the eyes to use as a unique biometric identifier, ultimately answering the question: who is holding the phone?


Klink: KlinkMobile enables the transfer of cellular airtime minutes and currency via a proprietary, cloud-based financial transaction platform.


LockerDome: Backed by Square co-founder, Jim McKelvey, LockerDome is one of the hottest sports startups in the country. LockerDome aims to be a person’s sports identity. The bet we've made is that people have 3 big personas in their life: social, professional, and recreational. Facebook covers social. LinkedIn covers professional. LockerDome wants to cover sports/recreational - an area that we believe people are more passionate about than any of the others and the only one of the three areas that completely transcends international borders.


LiveOn: LiveOn aims to be the brand that consumers and businesses trust to preserve their digital legacy.


ABPathfinder: ABPathfinder brings technology to Autism therapy by providing tools for therapists to use in their everyday assessments.
InvenQueryInvenQuery is a technology platform with mobile application that seamlessly integrates inventory management and point-of-sale, with the ability to administer and publish an e-commerce website. IQ software is agile, scalable and easy to use while maintaining sophisticated reporting mechanisms managers depend on to measure success.
RollSale: RollSale has created a technology that will disrupt the traditional ways in which automotive dealers conduct their wholesale trade. RollSale is a communications platform where dealers are able to connect with other dealers in an environment that mimics the function and usability of common social networks.
SEIN Analytics: SEIN is bringing to market an open cloud application and database for analyzing asset-backed securities (ABS). SEIN is leveraging its proprietary web scraping and data mining technology to rapidly standardize data across all ABS categories. With $2.7 trillion in ABS outstanding, SEIN is directly addressing the pain points of this large market, while taking advantage of new regulatory proposals for increased transparency.
KauzuKauzu is a company that seeks to innovate and empower the U.S. employment industry by providing a dynamic, online environment with unique tools to create meaningful, timely connections. Kauzu is like eHarmony.com meets eBay for the employment industry, which will make job search and hiring timely, active, and satisfying.


Gremln: Gremln.com makes it easy for businesses to easily and effectively market themselves and their products on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. Gremln provides comprehensive messages management, success analytics and social media ROI analysis for businesses of every size. Engage, learn, and monitor return with Gremln.com. 
Best of luck to the Think Big Showcase startups! 
Follow Think Big! @ThinkBigKC
Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

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